Beyond the Garden
by DamienStorm23
Summary: Years after the victory in the Black Garden, there was finally peace in the Last City on Earth...so everyone believed. Elita, a well known female titan, feels that this peace is either deception or will end at any moment. Follow Elita, Val and other trusted guardians as they unravel forgotten mysteries, find new ones, and face an inner turmoil that no being should face.
1. Peace? What Peace? Pt1

**Hey guys! Welcome to my first fan fic on this site! While I'm new to this site , I've written fan fiction before. So I'm excited to express my imagination once more for the Destiny Universe. This first chapter is a little short. I was a noob and lost some info so this chapter will be split into to 2 parts. Hope you enjoy!**

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It has been 5 years since Elita and her fireteam defeated the Heart of the Black Garden. There were things still unanswered, however, like who that strange Exo woman was, why it was so easy to defeat what the Speaker said was the very source of the darkness, what role the Cabal played in this war, and how was it possible for a non-Fallen to be in charge of a sacred religious House? These things bothered Elita as she looked from the Tower's tallest balcony, always wondering if she had done enough for the sake of the 'Light' and if things were going to get worse in the future.

She summoned her ghost that had now taken on a brilliant blue colored shell and a golden yellow light to illuminate its core optic and the points of its shell. She just stared at it, reflecting on how it came to be that color and remembering the things she saw in her journey.

_"Need something my Lady?", _the ghost queried.  
"N..no, ghost. I apologize. Just thinking is all", she said snapping back from her aimless gaze.  
_"No need to be sorry. I'm here to serve you...after all, you are the..."_  
"DON'T...ghost...please", Elita exclaimed while shutting her eyes tightly and tilting her head downward.  
_"My apologies miss Elita, I will never speak of it again"_, the now seemingly embarrassed ghost said

Elita let out a huff and looked back at her gear sitting on the bench. No matter what she did, she couldn't get the traumatic images of the Hive and their 'god' out of her mind...

_**::Flashback::**_

"I don't understand!" A warlock shouted. "Why does our armor change when we get to a certain point!? Why do we look like this?!"  
Elita stood silent as she watched 3 members of an alliance fireteam become rapidly uneasy with their predicament. The warlock, Ramsey, took it the worst as he was the first to experience this 'change'. First his boots changed from a steel tipped leather material to a hardened bone shape with a golden bronze tint. His pace became slower as the weight of the boots increased. Eventually he could no longer leap from the ground. Next he watched as his gauntlets and shoulder armor morphed, starting with the fingers sharpening to a point, the back of his hand cracked as hive bone encompassed it. He watched as the green energy traveled up his arm and extended large bone coverings on his shoulders. They circled the shoulder and made a sharp point about 5 inches out. He started to feel an unknown power course through him.

"I gotta bad feelin about this y'all" He said nervously

Green and white energy swarmed around him and seemed to have covered his entire body. The other warlock and titan next to him rushed over to try to help him but before they got to him, an extreme flash of light emitted from his body. The entire team covered their vision and waited for the brightness to subside.

"Ramsey!" They all shouted

Elita and the others saw something they thought they would never see. Not here and not now. Hovering 3 feet from the ground, a long scaly cloak dragged across the ground, a high rigged collar flared from the figures neck and pointy like ears near the top of its head.

"WIZARD!" The Titan shouted pointing his Vex Mythoclast aimed to fire.

The two hunters in Elita's fireteam pointed their guns as well. The hovering figure shook and convulsed as if it was having an internal struggle. Elita too was about to take her aim until she heard what was not a Wizard sound but a deep grunt of a man.

"Ramsey!" Shouted the female warlock on his right. "Guys stop! That's my brother" she said jumping in between him and the other guardians.

Ramsey's face resembled that of a wizard but still had a pitch black vizor indicating that the helmet could be removed. This was all confusing to the six of them especially when the rest of them started to change. Elita and the hunters were next, all morphing into Hive counterparts of there respective class. The Titan with Ramsey and the warlock were last. It seems as if there experience was different then Ramsey's.

"So...why did we not flash all glowy like Ramsey did?" The female hunter asked.  
"I dunno V. I feel different, more powerful but I don't think that its a bad thing." Elita said scanning the room at the other guardians.  
"Ever since we walked through that bright tunnel away from all those crazy Thrall, we kept changing...as if it was supposed to be like this." Elita walked cautiously toward Ramsey and his sister to see if he was okay. "April, is Ramsey okay?" Elita said calmly  
"I don't know...he wont talk" She said nervously

Elita approached the silent guardian and placed her right hand on his shoulder. The moment she touched him, he flinched and jumped back about ten feet.

"Ddd...Dooont!" A broken voice came from Ramsey.  
"Ramsey...whats wrong?" April asked  
"ttToo...Muuchh..." he uttered again.

That was all he could manage to say before collapsing to the ground...

_**::End Flashback::**_

Elita looked at her armor, armor which she could not get rid of. Even when she applied the Black and White shader from Dead Orbit, the armor would gradually revert back to its golden bronze color.

"I guess the only way to not look like a Hive Knight..Wizard thing, is if I wear my helmet they call 'Insurmountable Skullfort' and my Mark of the Exodus from D.O" Elita sighed to herself.

"You seem lonely up here all by your lonesome" a voice said behind Elita.

Elita closed her eyes and cracked a slight smile before responding. She waved her hand toward her ghost, making a grabbing motion and returned it to its slumber.

"Alone, but not lonely. What's up Val?" Elita said turning around.

Valerie White; or just Val because no one calls her Valerie. A highly skilled huntress with sass and class to match. She's got medium length golden blonde hair that resembles a blowout but not really. Bangs slightly cover her left eye and her eyes shine a crystal blue color. Make no mistake, this girl is no where near dumb nor is she gullible. If there is a joke she doesn't get, she probably wont care enough to ask. She too was an agent of the Dead Orbit Faction (she also dragged Elita into it) so she dawned emblems, hoods and shaders from them. Her armor, however was not permanently affected by their experience with the Hive like Elita and Ramsey. She could actually change into that armor when she felt like it. The armor she was currently wearing had a hardened black metal plate that covered her breast area up to her collarbone and around her back, leaving a white skin tight plug suit like armor underneath. Her belt was black and had compartments for small throwing knives. Her left arm was covered with a spinal column and small skull of a golden age creature, it origins unknown. The bones moved periodically on their own but served a good purpose of slowly collecting energy from enemies around her and sometimes scaring the civilians who annoyed her. She wore boots that were custom made from Dead Orbit that allowed her to have 2 large combat knives, one on the outside of each leg. Their functionality was perfect for her, allowing her to jump higher, run faster, and convert solar energy for additional attack power if she so desired. Her hood drape was half the width of her body and came to a wedge at the end, sporting the D.O pattern. This was Val, always hungry but looked like a model.

"Food...I was thinking...Winter Kell Supreme, or Loaded Fallen Fries...extra bacon" **(**NOTE** These food items are just clever names not actual fallen lol)  
**"Definitely Winter Kell Supreme! haven't had one of those in forever" Elita said smiling  
"Thought you might...lets goo!" Val said spinning 180 degrees and walking down the stairs. She then stopped and walked back up to Elita who was gathering her things."Whoa whoa...we cant have you going out looking like that." Val said crossing her arms and raising a brow.  
"What chu mean?" Elita said high pitched while looking at her attire in question.  
"Nah nah nah...look. Your hair's all jacked up, you look like you just got outta bed.."  
"I did..." Elita said under her breath  
"And you came all the way up here without getting decent?" Val said holding the bridge of her nose and squinting.  
"How many times do I have to tell you? No guy wants a chick who always be lookin rough early in the morning" Val continued  
"But...its 6pm Val" Elita said quietly  
"That's even worse!" Val shouted  
"Val, I'm a guardian, I have to time for guys" Elita uttered  
"That's not the point...always be prepared, just like you said right?" Val said smirking  
"Yea but..."  
"No buts! And speaking of butts, go wash yours!" Val said laughing  
"Ok ok..." Elita grumbled, snatched her gear and shuffled downstairs to the elevator  
"I'll meet you at Holiday's office" Val shouted down  
"Yea yea..." Elita waved off as she continued on

/

"Anyone heard from Sam?" A woman's voice chirped in through the radio comm  
"nah...didn't he express his not wanting to be involved with Gate Guardians anymore?" A Hunter spoke while looking through the scope of his 'Ice Breaker" Sniper Rifle  
"3...2...1..." He counted, until the next round reloaded and then tagged another dreg. "Nah haven't seen or heard from him sis" Ramsey replied  
"Nope!" the titan quickly remarked  
"You make it seem like, you don't care Gil" April spoke  
"Why should we? We don't need that weak behind no life anyway" Another titan said.  
"I'm not askin you to care shortness, I just need you to do your job." April snapped back  
"And is your job to sit around and eat all day while we go out and look for someone that don't exist?" the titan snapped back  
"Listen Jay, I ain't in the mood to be arguing with you today. Finish your patrol so we can move on to the next mission" April said as she smacked two Reaver Captains in the face with her scorch melee.  
"iight whatever..." Jay replied as all communications beeped out.

The Gate Guardians had been the last clan on Earth since the others felt no need to continue after the downfall of the Black Garden. There were 8 total members so far. April was their leader; a powerful warlock with the power to turn off her emotions at will. She dawned a super rare helmet that allowed her to consistently throw Nova Bombs within 5 secs of each other. How she has that much power to keep up with it...no one knows. Second in command was Jay, a strong but cocky titan. He proved to be the fastest titan anyone had laid eyes on. People blame his small stature for his speed but something else was different about him. He had another ability that allowed him to switch between the Striker subclass to the defender in an instant. He was a human 'Shield and Sword'. Next was Ramsey; a wise warlock who spent more time studying the arts than working on his strength. Though he seemed weaker than the rest of the clan, Ramsey had dual personalities. This doesn't count as an ability because he cannot control it. One minute he'd be fine and the other he would just snap on people. The Gate Guardians fear for the day that Ramsey controls his disposition, because he would truly be the most powerful warlock known to man. He had another ability that was linked to the split personality but it was unclear exactly what it was, and the others felt it better to not mention it. Gil was a powerful titan with the ability to use the kinetic energy of ammunition and project it as if he were using a weapon even when he wasn't. If he had a sniper bullet in his hand, he could throw it at a velocity that would make it seem like it came from a sniper rifle itself. He craved battle and was a 'shoot now, ask questions later...without a name', kind of guy. He towered over his second in command at 6'5" weighing a solid 300 pounds. The Hunters in the group were, Shark, Jet, and Aaron; all great snipers and tacticians. The last and missing member was Sam. Another warlock but seemed to have vanished after their alliance with Elita and her crew.

Things were the same with the Gate Guardians...do bounties, collect relics, dominate other guardians in the crucible, rinse and repeat. They always prepared for the day that everyone would need saving again.

/

"So yeah, when those new ships come in let me know. I cannot wait to test them out" Val said chewing on a candy bar outside of Amanda Holiday's Office.  
"What new ships?" Elita asked walking up behind Val  
"uuhmm...Nuthann" Val said in mid chew  
"Oh Yeah! Now THAT'S better!" Val said looking at Elita

Elita stood tall, all 6'2 of her, wearing only the leg portion of the Molnyia Type 0 armor and the dark grey tri-polymer under armor. Her wavy, rich dark brown hair had grown in these years of peace, from just shoulder length down to just past the middle of her back. Two large wavy strands fell down over her shoulders and a large bang swept around from the left side of her face to the other, all while not covering her deep cerulean blue eye color. She twirled her 'Venation III' Hand Cannon in one hand and twirled a curl in the other, now bashful from Val and Amanda staring her up and down.

"Well look at you guardian! lookin hot!" Amanda said smirking  
"Whew! Don't you clean up well!" Val added. "You almost look as good as me!" She said winking  
"Val!" Holiday shouted giving Val a small push  
"What? Gotta give the girl some confidence!" Val said laughing  
"Guys...I just changed. I didn't do anything special" Elita said embarrassed  
"mmm hmmm" Val and Amanda said together

Elita made her weapon do one last rotation before locking it in place securely on her lower back. She shook her head and grabbed Val by the arm.

"Okay okay that's enough of the Elita fan-club, let go already." Elita said while trying to hold back a smile.  
"Have fun girls. Don't get into too much trouble." Holiday said with a smile on her face. "We shall" Elita replied  
"No promises" shouted Val

The two walked off, laughing and pushing each other playfully, then turned to exit the docking area and into the vast courtyard of the tower.

"Those two...so different yet so alike. I see why they're best friends. Almost makes me jealous. All that youth and power." Amanda said staring off toward the docking bay.  
"But...who else will keep their ships up?" She perked herself up while stretching  
"Better get to wor..." Amanda's eyes widened as a black and green energy appeared in the corridor in front of her. A loud screech filled the bay as if something was ripping through the atmosphere and there appeared 2 red Hive Knights and a small figure wearing a dark green cloak.

Amanda looked around and remembered that everyone in the bay area had turned in for the night. She realized she was alone and knew better than to linger or try to be a hero so she immediately turned to push the tower alarm but smacked into another Knight. This one was bigger than the other two but had the normal bronze-ish brown color to it. She began to scream but it slammed the hilt of its sword into her middle, instantly knocking her out. He slumped her over his shoulder and walked toward the others who waited for him.

"Isht shula nawa nekomah?" (Is she the one needed?) The large Knight asked  
"She is..." The cloaked one replied in a disguised voice

The Knights gave a bow and the 'Screech Portal' opened again. The Knight carrying Holiday entered first, then the red Knights after him. The cloaked figure looked around and a grin cracked open as he turned around.

"The time has come Guardians!" He uttered through the grin as he slowly walked through the portal.

The portal smacked closed and all was empty in the docks. Elita and Val had no idea what was about to happen...

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**Thanks again for taking the time to read my first chapter. I will upload the second chapter soon and possibly even the third before next weekend. Stay tuned. **


	2. What Peace? Pt 2

**Welcome back to Chapter 2! If you thought things were weird last chapter, its about to get a lot worse! I decided to make a 3 part series for my intro into this crazy story, so this is part 2 of 3. Enjoy!**

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Elita and Val walked through the last corridor from the docks and into the large courtyard of the tower but stopped dead in their tracks.

"Is this some kind of joke?" Val said looking around.  
"Where is everyone? I know its late but..." Elita said walking slowly towards the Post-Master's office.  
"The Post-Master, the Special Orders lady, the Gunsmith, the Bounty Master, the sweep bots, even the greedy Cryptarch is gone." Val added, following Elita

Elita looked around the Post lady's office to see everything in shambles. She found this particularly odd because the Post lady is a robot, flawless in design and doesn't know what disorder means. Elita's eyes narrowed as she left the office and stepped back outside.

"Even those red pigeons are gone...there's just nothing" Val said checking around the storage vaults.

"Val can you do a scan of the area?" Elita asked while summoning her ghost.

"Roger roger..." Val confirmed

Val too summoned her ghost, which also was a different color than the others. Her ghost was pitch black with a clear optic in the middle. The points of the ghost were clear as well and there were 2 rods in between the top and side points. These rods angled back and extended about a half an inch past the body of the shell. This special ghost was a multipurpose type that was mainly used for recon and hi-speed information trafficking. Depending on the situation, the optic color and the lights on each point would change color. Grey being its normal color, red for hand to hand combat, blue for team healing, orange for the crucible, and green for aerial combat.

"Ghost, I need a sweep of the entire tower." Val commanded while her 'Knucklehead Radar' Helmet materialized itself on her head.

Elita placed her helmet on as well to try to get in contact with Lord Jalaal from Dead Orbit.

"This is Elita, commander of Fireteam Zeta. Master Jalaal, are you there?" Elita waited a moment for a response. "Master Jalaal come in!"

A screech in the comm caused Elita to flinch and a static came through as if someone was listening but not talking.

"uhh...Lita..." Val interrupted

Elita turned her attention to her Lieutenant and her eyes widened as Val slowly moved backwards towards her position.

"How is this possible?" Elita asked.

The two guardians watched as hundreds of green and black portals opened in the sky above the city below the tower and in the tower's airspace.

"I don't know but there are portals opening everywhere. My ghost scanned the entire tower, there are thousands of 'Screech Portals' opening all around us." Val said recalling her ghost.

"This is not good. Get ready Val, this is gonna be rough." Elita said opening her weapon and armor inventory.

Elita pressed the comm button on her helmet and called her second lieutenant. He was far away on a mission but he was definitely needed.

"Kenshi, come in. The tower is under attack. It's really bad." Elita released the button and waited, only to hear the same screech as before.

"Stupid thing! Why am I getting interference!?" She shouted.

"Its because I'm jamming the comm...guardian" a voice in the girls' ears spoke.

"It's time for the guardians to pay for their crimes...with their lives!" The voice then was silent as the army of Hive completed their warp jump.

"Hey! Wait!" Elita tried to respond but to no avail.

Elita and Val suited up ready for battle. Val changed her armor in a flash of light, wearing the very armor she wore when they defeated Crota all those years ago. She summoned her 'Fate Bringer' Hand Cannon for its ability to take down the Knight's Arc Shielding, and the 'Blackhammer' Sniper in the event of Wizards. She stood ready as green static like energy buzzed around her before encasing her in a green aura.

Elita summoned the rest of the Molnyia type 0 Armor and swapped out her hand canon for her 'Hardlight' Auto Rifle. She also summoned her 'Swordbreaker' Shotgun which was particularly effective against large waves of Thrall and Acolytes. She walked up next to Val and started to glow a bright blue color, activating her Striker abilities.

As the Hive finished spawning from the portals, something was off about them. Only Knights spawned from the portals, half of them red and a quarter of them blue and the remaining were the normal brownish bronze color. None of them held guns, only swords. Another strange thing was the 'Tomb Ships' above. None of them fired a shot like normal nor did they spawn more troops.

"Why did the Hive bring 'Swordbearers' and 'Gatekeepers' here?" Val said nervously

"I...I don't know. I don't like this at all Val" Elita said just as nervous.

"Why are they not attacking us?" Val questioned

"Your guess is as good as mine..." Elita responded scanning the enemy, prepared to attack.

A blue Knight (Gatekeeper) walked to the front of the mob and looked at Elita and Val, breathing heavy with his large sword in hand.

"Jhall netk usuh vebrak?" The Knight belted

"What? I don't understand you!" Elita spoke taking fine aim.

"Jhall netk usuh vebrak?" The Knight shouted louder

"English! or we will attack!" Val shouted.

The blue Knight and the Knights behind him inched closer towards the two but they stood their ground and let out a last warning.

"Last chance! What do you want? and why are you here at our tower!" Elita expressed again narrowing her eyes in anticipation

"You!" A deep grumbling came from the Knight.

Elita's eyes snapped open and she charged forward, stepping so hard that she made indents in the marble ground of the courtyard. She leaped high into the air letting out a battle cry and charged her boots with Arc energy.

"Elita! Wait! I don't think..." Val tried to reach Elita with her words but it was too late. She knew she had to back Elita up.

The Knights looked toward the sky as Elita hovered above them. The brightness of the energy Elita emitted caused some of the Knights to squint and shield their eyes which gave her the advantage. Elita did a front flip, extending her left leg and brought it down toward the 'Gatekeeper' . The Knight crossed his arms to defend and in a flash of light, Elita's foot connected with the Knight and she stalled on his arms. The Knight brought his head up to see what Elita would do next but she was already making her next move.

Elita slid her foot down toward the middle of the Knights arm and with her right leg, she broke the Knight's guard with a back flip kick. The Knight's arms broke free, leaving him open and while Elita was in the air, she did a double tuck back flip before slamming both legs into the Knight's chest, finishing her Arc Drop Kick. The Knight grunted loudly as he slid back several feet, knocking into a bunch of other Knights. Elita hit the ground on her back as planned and instantly recovered with a roll backwards and using her hands to spring herself up to her feet. Elita then charged a flashbang grenade, tossed it at the crowd and aimed her gun, waiting for it to detonate.

"Val NOW!" Elita ordered

As soon as the grenade went off, Val blinked into the crowd of Knights. She quickly activated her 'Blade Dance' ability and moved through the wave of enemies, targeting only the normal Knights. Elita took her aim and began to take pop shots at the red Knights and normal Knights that Val may have not seen. Val, like lightning skipping through clouds, erased a good number of enemies before the effects of Elita's flashbang wore off. The Knights began to retaliate once they were able to see what was going on. One Knight swung towards Val but she side stepped the blade and slashed upward removing the Knights arm. She then spun rapidly, creating a shock wave which gave her a little more space to continue her assault. She was at about half of the 'Blade Dancer' duration so she pressed on to end as many as possible. She flipped over a red Knight who went for a horizontal swipe, causing it to cut through other Knights near them. Val then slashed through five more Knights until the red Knight turned around to attack her blind side. As soon as the Knight was about to bring its sword down, it staggered from a shot fired from Elita. Val turned to face the Knight and rushed towards it. She spun around its body and placed her hands on the Knight's back. She charged arc energy and with a burst, forced the Knight out of the crowd and towards Elita, probably attempting to grab the sword once it dropped. Elita wasted no time in finishing the Knight off with a barrage of bullets and quickly reloaded to aid Val again but something was wrong.

"Val, the sword disappeared once the Knight died. How can that be?" Elita said in the comm

"I don't know..." Val said letting out shouts of effort as she moved through the crowd.

"Something isn't right Lita. These Knights seem like they're attacking in self defense." Val continued.

"Don't be fooled Val. That 'Gatekeeper' spoke out to me specifically. We had to make the first move" Elita said sternly

"When did he...agh!" Val let out shout due to getting grazed by a Knight's blade

Val had taken out hundreds of Knights in one 'Blade Dance' assault and her timed ability was due to end soon.

"There's a lot more than I expected Lita...and I don't have much 'Blade Dance' left." Val admitted

"Don't worry, I got your back." Elita replied.

Elita then pushed the lightning bolt symbol on the top of her gun and the glass dome on the left side of the weapon began to glow white. She smacked the dome, activating the 'Hardlight's special ability. She took her aim at the ground in front of the mob and pressed the trigger hard. Large white beams shot at the ground and ricocheted through the crowd, taking out 32 Knights in a single blow. Val managed to dodge the incoming barrage and could now breathe a little.

"I only have a bit of energy left Elita. Lets try to end this." Val proposed

"I got just the thing. Meet me in the sky" Elita answered

Without a second thought, Val launched herself high above the Knights and saw Elita as she appeared right next to her. Without saying a word, Val knew exactly what Elita was planning and released the remainder of her Arc energy. Elita erupted in full Arc power and they pressed their backs against each other. They began to spin rapidly as they made their decent; bright Arc energy sparking everywhere. The Knights tried to block the pending attack but it would prove futile. The two guardians slammed to the ground while continuing to spin, creating a rotating 'Fist of Havoc'. The radius of the attack ranged nearly the entire courtyard, and Knights were falling by the fifties. Val now had 5% percent of power remaining and decided to take it a step further. She extended her arms out to the sides and channeled concentrated power through her blades, creating giant Arc blades outside of the dome, which she used to take out a few red Knights.

Once Val's Arc energy was depleted the rotation stopped and they stood amongst only 9 Knights; 5 red and 4 blue. Most of the blue Knights fell from the tower or was taken out by the mistake of the red Knights trying to attack Val. Elita looked around to see the remaining Knights release their Hive shields and now looked more ready to attack.

"I think they're angry now" Val said panting a little.

"I think you're right..." Elita said scanning the remaining enemies.

"Wait...where's the lead Knight?" Elita questioned.

"I don't know, they all look the same" Val replied.

Suddenly an explosion of green energy erupted from the ledge of the tower. The other Knights stood by trying to recover from the previous attack. Elita and Val watched in amazement as the 'Gatekeeper' that Elita first attacked launched himself high into the air.

"Can Knights do that?" Val questioned, now revealing her 'Blackhammer'

Elita remained silent as she readied her 'Exodus Plan' Rocket Launcher, which was re-tuned to track enemies and attach large Arc grenades upon detonation. The Knight then tossed his sword away, pulled back his right hand by his shoulder and gathered a massive amount of energy into it. The energy he created shook the tower but the girls stood strong.

"Is that?" Val said wide eyed.

"It can't be!" Elita added

The energy the Knight collected was indeed Void energy and it was about to unleash the impossible...A Nova Bomb.

/

Far away from the battle on Earth, Kenshi; Elita's second Lieutenant, was on a personal mission near the massive storms of Venus. He appeared in front of the newly rebuilt Ishtar Library where he was told he could find the information he was searching for. As he walked through the door, a female Exo dressed as a librarian greeted him. He thought this strange since no one had ever been attending to the Library since the Vex were eradicated. He decided to think nothing of it and shrugged it off.

"Kenshi?" A small voice down one of the isles spoke

Kenshi remained silent, pulled out his 'Shadow Price' and began to scan the area.

"Kenshi...where are you?" The voice said again, this time from the other side.

"Kenshi..." A voice said from the second floor.

"Kenshi..." Another said

"Where are you?" another said coming from the third floor

"Kenshi..."

His name echoed throughout the library but he continued weaving through the isles of ancient books and artifacts.

He checked the right, but nothing. He snapped quickly to the left...still nothing. He walked a bit more, cautiously, as the voices continued to lead him to who knows where.

The echoing got louder as he walked toward a particular bookcase. He pointed his weapon and prepared for whatever was coming next. He got about 2 feet from the bookcase and the voices ceased. Silence filled the air and Kenshi stood completely still while scanning the area with his visor. A feint red dot flashed in the top right corner of his radar and he peered in the direction as the dot approached. He 'Blinked' 15 feet in the direction of the intruder and placed the barrel of his gun on the back of the figures head. This person was a little smaller than Kenshi and wore a dark green hood.

"Who are you?" Kenshi questioned

"You already know who I am...don't you?" The disguised voice replied with a slight turning of the head

"I'll ask again...who...are you?"

"How could you forget who I am?" A mans voice now clear spoke.

Kenshi's eyes widened in disbelief as he continued to hold his position.

"Did you think that I forgot about you, Kenshi? That if you changed your lifestyle, that it would make up for your actions?" The mysterious man said

"You're not real. There's no way that you can be..." Kenshi spoke, now getting nervous

"What alive? Don't make me laugh" The hooded man said with deep anger in his voice.

"You and your kind will pay for everything you've done! You especially Kenshi Arashi!" The man continued with extreme bitterness

"Do you hear her voice in your sleep?" The hooded man added

"Quiet..." Kenshi spoke out, trying to get unwanted images from his head.

"Do you see her dying in front of you every time you blink an eye?" The man said next

"I said quiet!" Kenshi said through his teeth, now pressing the gun barrel even harder on the man's head.

"How she must absolutely hate you for betraying her!" The man spoke out once more before Kenshi let out an agonizing scream.

Just before he went to shoot, a large cloud of green smoke shot out around him and his vision was blocked from the hooded man. He checked his radar and it seemed that the man was moving toward the back of the library. Kenshi then took aim and shot 15 rounds in that direction. The dot on the radar vanished and smoke cleared instantly revealing something terrible.

The Hooded man that Kenshi thought he ended was really the female Exo librarian. Kenshi looked around to see that there were others present in the room too, but he knew they weren't there before...He was certain. He looked around at all the different races and species that were in the building, all now looking fearful of what he, a guardian had done. He slowly approached the librarian, who's metal casing and core processor was completely destroyed, and wondered to himself how this was even possible?

The onlookers whispered amongst themselves in fear that Kenshi may attack them next. The Ishtar Academy had become a peaceful and neutral place in the galaxy but now was once again tainted by violence. Kenshi then noticed a piece of paper sticking out from the Exo's robe. He took hold of it and unfolded it in curiosity.

"This is just the beginning!" were the words written on it and Kenshi knew he had to warn Elita and Val.

"Elita, this is Kenshi. Come in." static filled the comm but Kenshi tried again

"Elita...Val. Come in" again, the attempt failed.

"Somethings wrong. I need to get back" Kenshi said putting away his gun.

He took another look around the library, still seeing the horrified expressions on all of there faces, and great shame came over him.

"I did not mean to kill this innocent person..." Kenshi said loudly

"Liar!" a screechy voice said from above

"It was no accident!" another said.

"No, please listen. I was..." Kenshi tried to explain but what he experienced was clearly different than what they saw and he knew he had no argument.

"She begged to you to spare her but you silenced her. Guardians are murderers, only capable of war and violence." Once person spoke out.

Kenshi listened as they went on about hating the Guardians, and how the universe would never be safe. He knew there was nothing else to be said but he knew he could to one last thing. He picked up the librarian's broken body and decided that he would bury it outside, giving her a proper burial. He then started to make his way to the exit and just before he left the building, someone shouted something he would never forget.

"As long as Guardians exist...There will never be peace!"


	3. What Peace? Pt 3

**Ohhh its epic fight scene time! I hope you enjoy this as much as I loved writing it. A big reveal is at the end and the real start to our story. How many of you guessed what was going on? Please give feedback and comments. LETS GOO!**

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Back at the Tower, Elita and Val braced themselves against the Knight who could not only speak but wield powers like a Guardian. Wild wind whipped around the brave Guardians and the tower shook so much that the girls thought it would crumble under the power of their enemy.

"Huumla Cavar!" (Stand down!) The 'Gatekeeper' shouted down toward Elita and Val

"I don't know what he's saying or why Knights can suddenly talk but we must end this before he destroys the tower." Elita shouted

"I agree. I got your back E! The only thing that may counter the Nova Bomb would be our 'Orbital Piercer' Technique." Val shouted back

"Agreed!" Elita confirmed

"Huumla Cavar Ote Fo Vaqir!" (Stand down or be destroyed) The Knight shouted once more.

"Stand strong Val. We've faced Nova Bombs before...this one is no different!" Elita said aiming with her rocket launcher.

The large weapon beeped, confirming a lock on. Val aimed down the sights of her sniper, highlighting the airborne target. Elita started to glow with Arc energy and bright blue electricity shattered around the rocket launcher. With hearts pounding and nerves nearly breaking, Elita and Val waited for the Knight to launch his attack.

"SHIINAY!" (So be it!) The Knight erupted with anger and his power flared even higher.

A concentrated storm broke out in the vicinity of the Tower, expelling green lightning everywhere and tremendous thunder to match. The 'Gatekeeper' launched his Nova Bomb toward Elita and Val at an incredible speed, and almost caught them off guard. Elita shot her rocket directly into the center of the Nova Bomb and the Arc energy that surrounded it allowed for the rocket to not immediately detonate. Elita knew that the attack was too close to pull off the 'Orbital Piercer' so she decided to shoot a second rocket next to the first one surrounded also by Arc energy. Val stood in position without so much as a flinch or a blink of an eye, anticipating the exact moment of when to fire. Elita promptly tossed her launcher to the side and did something Titan's weren't supposed to know how to do. Elita charged up her hands with Arc energy, forming her hands to look like claws. She reached her hands toward the rockets as if she was grabbing them and began to sync with the energy that was attached to them. She mustered up her strength from the inside and made a spreading motion with her hands, causing the energy to create a net-like field to hold the Nova Bomb in place. The Knight could not believe what he saw and began push the Nova Bomb with his energy. Elita then made a circled motion with her hands, stopping at her sides with her hands still clawed and forced her arms upwards to began to push back.

The struggle began; both the Knight and Elita going back and forth but Elita knew it wouldn't last long. The Knight was entirely too strong.

"Val, I can't...push much longer, and I'm running out of energy really fast" Elita called out

"I will find an opening...just a bit longer." Val calmly said.

The Knight began to push the attack further down and was now about 30 feet above the girls. At this range, any explosion at this point would be catastrophic to everything around. Elita had to hold out, Val had to finish the job but the Knight seemed to have limitless power. Elita began to weaken and fell to one knee as she struggled to hold the blast as far away as possible.

"Elita I see an opening. Its going to be risky but i need you to put your all into this last push" Val said now aiming at the rockets that hadn't exploded yet.

Elita said nothing as she slowly slid her left foot forward to lift herself back up to her feet. The energy in her hands began to flicker but she knew what she had to do. She then bent her knees slightly and slowly brought her hands back to her waist with her hands facing upward. With a mighty yell, she launched her arms back up, channeling her remaining Arc energy into the energy field above. She screamed to psych herself out of the thought of her Arc powers draining. She pushed and pushed and eventually the blast began to move back a couple feet at a time. The display on her visor indicated that her power duration was at 1%. She watched as the indicator bar slowly drained to nothing but she didn't stop. She pushed until every last ounce of energy was gone, even delving into her 'Light' energy, which was much harder to control than the subclass powers. She shouted until her voice cracked. She shouted and pushed until even Val looked toward her briefly, now concerned for her. She was only able to push the Nova Bomb back 10 feet which was still very dangerous for those caught in the blast but it had to be done. This Knight had to be stopped.

"You may know a Warlock's techniques; Knight, but you are NOT a Warlock!" Val shouted as she fired her solar powered round from her 'Blackhammer'.

She shot another round a second later that followed but aimed at the center of the Nova Bomb. The first bullet struck the right rocket causing it to explode and chaining to the rocket next to it. Void energy scattered out of the detonated rockets and started to combine with the Void energy from the Nova Bomb. A tiny shine of white light illuminated from within the center of the two Void energies. Val knew this was the sweet spot, which was what the second bullet was for. The white spot was the neutral zone created by the two Void energies colliding and could be ignited to create a vacuum within a vacuum. Elita and Val didn't know much about Warlock philosophy but they knew enough to take one down.

The second solar bullet hit the epicenter and began to slow down in velocity as it passed through, pulling Void energy toward the Knight on the other side. The epicenter ignited and dark orange flames filled the Void surrounding it. The energy needed an escape so it began to follow the path of the bullet making a sharp cone as the bullet began to slowly pierce the Void near the Knight. Elita dropped her arms and fell to both knees, panting heavily as she watched Val's sniper bullet pierce through the Void.

The back end of the bullet was approaching the exit of the Void sphere and the pressure of the fire built up around it. It was only a matter of time before the bullet would protrude through and the Knight had an idea of what was about to happen. He raised his left arm and reached out for the bullet with his index and middle finger extended. The moment he touched the bullet, a mysterious white energy flowed around the bullet and into the Void. Once it touched the fire, the entire Nova Bomb erupted in a flash of white light. Elita, Val and the remaining Knights all shielded their eyes due to how extremely bright it was. No one had ever seen anything like that before, especially Elita and Val.

After the Light vanished Elita and the others looked to see what had happened with the main Knight and why there was no explosion when the white light touched the Nova Bomb.

"What...was that?" Val asked now completely confused.

"I think he nullified the entire attack, but how?" Elita said rising to her feet.

"Those other Knights seem to be confused too. I'm guessing they had never seen an attack like that either" Elita continued.

"Wait...he vanished..." Elita said scanning the field.

"Holy Shi...ELITA MOVE!" Val screamed

Standing inches behind Elita, the 'Gatekeeper' made no sounds has it grabbed her, putting her in a full nelson hold. Val immediately pulled out her 'Fate Bringer' and emptied the clip, each shot hitting the side of the Knight's head. Val saw that this was ineffective as a white overshield covered the Knight and dissolved the bullets into white ashes. The Knight looked at Val but turned his attention back to Elita and pulled her arms up higher while palming the back of her head. Elita fought the pain as long as she could but the brute strength of the Knight was slowly overtaking her. She let out painful grunts and eventually a yell as she felt her shoulders about to to pop. Val sprinted over and jumped a few feet into the air approaching the right side of the Knight. She brought her left elbow down onto the inner elbow of the Knight, making him loosen his grip a little on Elita. She then swung her legs horizontally above Elita's head, just barely missing and connected both knees to the left side of Knight's face. The 'Gatekeeper' flinched, dropping his right sided grip on Elita which made himself more open. Val used her momentum to quickly spin 360 degrees and while pulling out her right combat knife, she drove the weapon into the Knight's left inner elbow. She removed the knife and went for another stab but the Knight knew he could not let Elita go.

The Knight let out a loud scream as the knife entered his arm again but still, he held on to Elita. Elita knew she couldn't waste this opportunity so she used her free arm to launch a counter attack. While she was being held, she was able to charge up some of her Arc energy but she knew she had to save it for the right moment. She made a tight fist with her right hand and raised her arm before slamming her elbow into the Knight's side. She raised her arm again to deliver two other sharp blows to the Knight but he held on still now trying to regain the full nelson he had originally. Val then pulled her second combat knife out and swiftly launched her attack on the Knight's back. She let out a series of wild and swift swipes, each slowly tearing at the Knight's boney shell. With each hit, the Knight grunted and growled and had about enough of Val's attack. He finally gained his control of Elita's arm and pressed harder against her head to make she wasn't going to move again. Elita was once again in massive pain and she felt helpless but she continued to struggle because Titans never give in...not ever.

Val chipped and chipped away at the Knight but then he suddenly jumped forward with Elita still held tightly. Val pursued, as the Knight knew she would. He anticipated her distance and with a mighty swing, he whipped Elita around with her legs extended and smacked Val in the face, causing her to spin uncontrollably and landing on her back.

"Val! Im...ugh...sorry" Elita cried out

"God..da...that hurts alot more than I thought" Val said getting up.

The Knight gave Val no time to recover and jumped once again, this time toward her. Val bounced backward and the Knight landed, trying to crush her.

"What's the matter Knight? Why keep Elita held like that? Afraid she might end you herself?" Val instigated

The 'Gatekeeper' stood silent and then looked down at Elita. He then launched a hard left knee to Elita's back causing her to yell in pain. This Knight was not stupid nor would he fall for prying tricks to give the enemy the advantage.

"I swear...when I get out of this...you will die!" Elita said getting even more serious than before.

The Knight screamed loudly into Elita's ear and planted another knee into her back and another in her side with his right knee. Elita tried to hold in her screams as the Knight gave her a few more hard knee strikes. Val could no longer bare the sight and her anger flared. She sprinted as fast as she could toward the Knight and the Knight let out a slight chuckle as she approached. Elita noticed the laughter and knew the Knight was up to something.

"Val no! It's a trap!" Elita screamed.

Val slid to a halt, wondering what was about to happen. The Knight was surprised that the Huntress could control her emotions so well but he had an answer to that. He then held Elita high into the air and fell to the ground in a seated position, slamming her face hard into the ground. He rose from the ground, still holding Elita in the same position. She was silent, probably with the wind being knocked out of her and her exotic helmet's visor scattered to pieces. Elita was knocked out. Val's anger shot through the roof and she blindly rushed toward the large Knight, bearing both combat knives.

The 'Gatekeeper' flung Elita's unconscious body to the other Knights watching near the Tower's ledge and welcomed Val's charge. She was too angry to think about why he threw Elita but she had to end this. She left the ground with both knives pointed outward and began to spin like a drill toward the Knight. She made contact to the Knight's chest and dug in deep, causing the Knight to slide back 10 feet. He took the attack intentionally and countered with a rising knee to Val's middle which popped her into the air as well. He then went for an uppercut to Val's face but she caught the attack with both hands, giving her leverage to swing her legs around and grab the Knight's arm. She then took a knife and jammed it into the Knight's wrist and with a hard twist she caused the Knight to fall, landing on his shoulder. Val quickly removed the knife and bounced back to her feet.

"You may be stronger than me...but I'm faster. Lets go!" Val taunted

The Knight rose to his feet as if he had received no damage and looked at Val with more intensity. He began to glow with a white aura and before Val knew it, he vanished in a flash. Val could not believe what she saw and scanned to see where he was but the radar showed nothing. She knew this was bad but stood firm, ready to evade. An indicator in her visor informed her of her 'Blade Dance' ability being fully charged. She readied herself, for her knew she would need all of it. She circled in position for when the Knight would appear, then suddenly a blink of red showed itself on her radar behind her. She spun to see the Knight dashing toward her and quickly channeled Arc energy to her hands and feet.

The Knight spun to do a jumping spin kick, but Val ducked and saw an opening. She rotated her right knife so that the blade pointed downward and went for a slashing uppercut to the Knight's face. Val didn't realize that the Knight's white aura completely changed his fighting style, making him more agile but less powerful. The 'Gatekeeper' had just enough time to move his face. He then did a back flip using his hands and kicked Val's right knife from her hand. It was clear that the Knight was still plenty strong and he would demonstrate this soon. The Knight then slid his legs through his arms after the back flip, trying to trip Val. Val jumped backward and the Knight landed on his back. He quickly bent his knees to his chest and like a spring, shot up from his hands and was now 3 feet from Val. He rotated his body, doing a somersault and brought his hands together in a club-like position. The Knight then slammed his fists on the top of Val's head causing her to hit the ground. The force caused her to bounce up a couple feet and she grunted from the impact. Val realized that while, the Knight was indeed strong, he wasn't as strong as he was initially. She rapidly spun while in the air, causing electricity to spark around her. The 'Gatekeeper' went for a downward punch but Val flashed around his arm like a stream of lightning and appeared in front of his large face. She then hit the Knight with a spinning knee to the right side of his face, followed by two mid-air roundhouse kicks. The Knight staggered back and Val continued her assault. She 'Blinked' back into striking range and with more speed imbued into her fists and remaining knife, and barraged to the Knight's middle section and chest with punches. She let out grunts and growls as each hit connected. After about 30 attacks, she charged up a power attack with her knife in her hand and swiped upwards, causing Arc energy to shoot outward like an electric blade. The Knight blocked as he was pushed back 10 feet then 'Blinked' away.

Val was ready and the Knight appeared to her right side and went for a back hand. Val 'Blinked' and appeared above the Knight. She then went for a strike straight down toward the Knight's head but he 'Blinked' again. The 'Gatekeeper' and Val went back and forth, striking, blocking, 'Blinking', and evading for about 20 minutes or so. Val was getting tired and her energy was about to be all used up. She wasn't sure if she would be able to keep up with the Knight's speed but she stood ready. The Knight trucked straight for Val and went for a 'Shoulder Charge'. Val put up her defenses but the Knight seemed to have passed right through her. She had no time to react because a second later the Knight reappeared in front of her charging like the first time and delivered a strong gut punch. She was left suspended in the air briefly before he would combo into a spinning hook kick which launched her 20 feet to the left and into the Cryptarch's little building.

'The Gatekeeper' then blinked toward the fallen debris and grabbed Val by the head, lifting her out of the rumble. A portion of her armor was broken and ripped and her helmet completely scattered. The 'Gatekeeper' began slam his fist numerous times into Val's stomach but she held strong trying to think of an effective counter attack.

"Ove Taktna Huumkar Guardian" (You should've surrendered Guardian) The 'Gatekeeper' said now summoning his sword into his hand.

"Fiir Ove Vaska! (Now you die!)

The Knight pointed the large blade to Val's neck and pulled back to deliver the final blow.

"ENOUGH!" A voice shouted.

Curious as to what was going on, the Knight turned to his right only to receive an electric flying knee to his right arm. His elbow shattered instantly and dropped down hanging on virtually nothing. He immediately dropped Val and she landed on her hands and knees to catch her breath. Elita charged more Arc energy and pivoted with her left foot, making a circling motion and planted a massive punch to the Knight's chest. The 'Gatekeeper' yelled out in agony and tumbled to the ground. He bounced back up to see Elita back within striking range. She was glowing a mixture of blue and white energy. She slammed her left fist into his side, then again with the right. She followed up with a mighty front kick which slid him back another 20 feet. The Knight fell to one knee, panting heavily and and holding the wounds to his chest.

Val wasted no time in coming to Elita's aid and flashed over to the Knight, channeling all of her remaining Arc energy into her right leg. She did a jumping snap kick to to the Knight's face forcing him to rise to his feet and stagger. He would swing wildly but Val would dodge and let out a series of what she called 'Blink Kicks'. These kicks were so fast that you could not see her legs to determine where the kicks would come from. All that could be seen was indents of damage being inflicted. Val made sure to hit all the weakest and exposed areas of the Knight's body and got around 120 strikes in before the Knight finally evaded with a jump backwards. Val was not gonna let him recover and Elita felt the same way

"Arc Meteor Slash...lets go!" Elita shouted.

Val also started to glow white and blue, mixing her 'Light' energy with her Arc. She was much more adept at controlling her inner energy than Elita was, which made her perfect for the attack. She 'Blinked' high into the sky and met Elita skybound. She used her 'Light' energy to create two 3 foot energy swords. Elita used the remainder of her Arc energy and a lot of her 'Light' energy and transferred them to Val when she grabbed hold of her feet. They rotated vertically and created an enormous ball of light blue energy. The 'Gatekeeper' then changed his aura to a greenish black and looked into the sky to see the phenomenon going on. Elita launched Val with incredible speed which mimicked a falling star. Just before she reached the 'Gatekeeper', she did a front flip, extending her arms upward with her blades extended. With unthinkable amount of power, Val slashed downward creating cut wounds from the Knight's collarbone, clear to his legs. The the attack was so fast that the Knight only realized he was cut after he saw Val landed on the ground in front of him. A delayed explosion shout out from the Knight's back, making him let out an agonizing scream and he dropped to his knees wobbling nearly lifeless.

Elita landed behind him and grabbed him by his head, exposing his neck.

"You slimy bastard...you should have killed me when you had a chance! This is the end for you." Elita said deep in anger.

Val stood with swords still in hand and walked slowly toward the Knight. She prepared herself and swiped toward the 'Gatekeeper's neck but stopped millimeters from executing. The only reason why she stopped is because she heard a familiar voice.

"STOP! Val don't do it!" Kenshi said landing from his ship.

"Kenshi? What's wrong with you!? These Hive attacked us in the middle of the night!" Elita uttered.

"No no no...listen. These are not Knights. It's going to sound crazy and you're NOT going to believe what you were about to do but look deep inside." Kenshi spoke approaching her.

"Did you not find it weird that these Knights were not acting like typical Knights? Calm down and breathe...search deep within the 'Light' and all will be exposed to you." Kenshi said placing his hand on Val's shoulder, signaling to lower her weapons.

Elita and Val closed their eyes and took in a deep breath, digging deep within themselves. A flash of images skipped through their minds as they recollected all that had happened thus far. The mysterious voice coming from their helmet comm, the sudden disappearance of everyone in the Tower, and the fact that this particular Knight could use techniques learned only by Guardians. They opened their eyes and what they saw was absolutely horrifying.

"No...no...NO!" Elita said with her hands shaking.

"This...this is impossible. No! Kenshi, this has to be some kind of trick!" Val yelled toward her teammate.

The 'Gatekeeper' that they thought they were attacking was none other than the Speaker himself. Elita fell to her knees trying to keep tears from falling from her face. Val punched the ground in disbelief and kept screaming "No" and "It's not true!" Kenshi felt just as bad and knew what type of traumatizing experience this was but he knew nothing he could say would calm the girls down or comfort then.

A groan suddenly came from the Speaker as he started to move again. Val backed up in fear and Elita ran over to his front to try and explain things to him

"Sir...I'm terribly-" Elita pleaded but was interrupted by a fierce face grab.

"Please Speaker...we didn't-" Val tried also but was grabbed by the face as well. Kenshi tried to stop him but the Speaker headbutted him, causing him to flinch and connected with a front kick that sent him sliding backwards. He then slammed both Elita and Val's head into the ground, his expression fierce and his grip tightening. He then lifted them into the air and threw them across the courtyard, making them slide into the balcony of the Tower. Commander Zavaala and Lord Shaxx appeared above them and secured them so they wouldn't escape.

"This act of treason and betrayal is UNACCEPTABLE!" The Speaker shouted stomping towards them.

"How dare you openly attack us here in a sacred place!? I should end...you...here!" His anger flared but then subsided as he took a deep breath to calm himself.

The wounds on the Speaker was already beginning to heal since a bit after Val's final attack.

"Throw them in the holding cell...and take their third teammate with them." The Speaker said, then finished healing himself.

The Speaker walked away toward his quarters and Captain Zavaala and Lord Shaxx carried the three Guardians down to the bottom level of the Tower to the prison cell.

A figure stood at the tallest point of the Tower and looked down at the events that took place. As everyone cleared the courtyard, the man in the dark green cloak grinned wide and entered a 'Screech Portal', leaving dead silence and a ruined courtyard.

From this point forward, every Guardian's lives, especially Elita and her teammates, would change forever...

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**So guys, please tell me what you thought! I hope this took you for a loop and I look forward to writing the rest of this story. I think you will enjoy it! Laterz**


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